Algerians Flock To Banks To Exchange 110 Euros For New Year’s Eve Celebrations

Banking agencies are currently witnessing a sharp demand for a tourist grant on the eve of New Year’s Eve celebrations, an occasion in which Algerians often flock abroad, while many banks, particularly in Algiers and the major cities, are experiencing acute shortages of foreign currency amid citizens’ complaints and desolation.
The value of this tourist grant is woefully no more than 110 Euros.
The decline comes in light of the high rate of inflation and erosion of the value of the Algerian Dinar against the Euro and the Dollar, at a time when the value of the tourist grant is officially set at 110 Euros and this adverse situation stoked the resentment of citizens traveling abroad, who bitterly complained at the level of banking agencies.
They criticized the sharp slump in the value of the tourist grant, arguing that this currency allocation covered no more than the cost of a “Taxi” ride in Europe.
The exchange rate of the Euro a week ago at the level of the informal market of hard currency at the square of Port Said in downtown Algiers was set at 21 thousand and 450 dinars per 100 Euros for the purchase and 21 thousand and 400 dinars for sale, as hard currency is in large demand by those people gearing up to spend the end of the year celebrations overseas.
The market’s hard currency brokers confirmed that the price of the Euro witnessed a sharp rise of up to 21 thousand and 450 dinars, compared with the previous 21 thousand dinars for 100 Euros.
Informal market traders attributed this steep rise to the ever-increasing demand for the Euro, knowing that the hike not only affected the Euro but included 7 other foreign currencies as well, starting from the beginning of December 2018.
The price of the Euro, the Dollar, the Tunisian Dinar, the Turkish Lira and the UAE Dirham has doubled due to increased demand as New Year’s Eve approaches, and Algerians are heading to the countries that deal with these currencies to spend New Year’s Eve 2019, while brokers expect this upward trend to continue until the end of January 2019.
The exchange rate of the United States Dollar reached 187 dinars for sale and 185 dinars for purchase. In contrast, the British Pound exceeded 238 dinars for sale and 236 dinars for purchase, while the Canadian dollar is set at 140 dinars for sale and 139 dinars for purchase.
Furthermore, the Tunisian Dinar, which is one of the most important currencies that are popular among Algerians due their frequent mobility to neighboring Tunisia, reached 64 dinars for purchase and 62 dinars for sale, while the Turkish Lira exceeded 35 dinars for purchase and 33 dinars for sale, and the equivalent of the UAE Dirham has been set at 50 dinars for purchase and 48 dinars for sale.